One Day You'll Meet The Real Me
by Moony1972
Summary: It's James birthday, and he's got one wish. That's a date with Lily. Follow James as he asks a very important question, that starts leading Lily to question his identity. Is James the person the outsiders all seem to think he is? Written in honour of James' birthday: March 27th.


**A/N: Seeing as today is James' birthday, I decided he deserved a fic fully devoted to him as well! Just read it and tell me what you think, please!**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**ONE DAY YOU'LL MEET THE REAL ME**

To an outsider, it would seem a normal day for James. It was not abnormal to catch James strutting about the halls of Hogwarts along with his three best friends, who, as they were so often advertised by the Potter, lesser than him. This claim was often ignored, however, because it would lead to a full on debate between James and Sirius, and these were never fun to witness.

Now, it was a normal day in the Marauders Third Year. Or so most people thought. This was one of the odd things about James. Based off how he normally acted, one would suspect that the date of the birth would be posted all over the walls of Hogwarts, but that was not the case. James loved his birthday, but he saw no reason to treat it weirdly. That would give a false impression of what the rest of the year would be like if everyone was so busy trying to force it to be good. It was not a normal day for the Marauders in their Third Year. It was James Potter's birthday. And there was a Hogsmeade trip the coming weekend.

The Marauders had tried really hard to please James with their gifts, but at the end of the day, they knew that there was one gift James would want more than anything else in the entire world. One date with Lily Evans. One would expect, with James Potter's good looks, that he would have no trouble getting a date with Lily Evans; every girl in Hogwarts fawned over him and dreamed of being able to have one date with James Potter. All except Lily. That's right, James had picked a girl who hated his guts to fall in love with.

But James would never give up, that was one thing that his friends were certain of. James would keep trying until he got the girl of his dreams, and after that, he would do all he could to retain her. The hardest and most daunting part of the task was to get Lily Evans to talk civilly with James, and if they failed, they would have to deal with the wrath of Lily. So the Marauders decided that they would only do this for James because it was his birthday and they needed to get Lily to talk with James so that James could ask the almighty question.

And that was what the three friends did. They positioned James to be standing casually by the wall in what he thought was a sexy pose. Remus had tried to tell him that Lily would rather James looking humbled, but he would not hear it. After all, there was no arguing with James Potter on his fourteenth birthday. The four had decided that it would be James who would share his birthday with Lily, as this would be his first time sharing this information with someone outside his relations. Peter pointed out the fault in that theory, but James reckoned that the Marauders were his brothers, and thus family.

Remus strolled up to Lily, having decided to take the most important task...and also because he was the only Marauder Lily would give the time of day for. Sirius and Peter had stood on opposite ends of the hallway, trying to keep it empty so that James and Lily's romantic moment would not be interrupted by the pedestrians.

"Er...Lily?" Remus asked.

Lily gave a very large grin. "Hey Remus!"

"Erm..." Remus started to get very nervous. He didn't want to bring up James; this always seemed to hit a nerve for Lily. And seeing that he was the closest one to her, it turned out that he would end up getting hexed, and that was _never_ a good thing.

"Yes, Remus? What is it? Don't get so nervous," Lily gave an angelic grin, and based on that, it would be hard to believe that Lily would ever hex somebody.

"Promise you won't hex me?"

James tapped his foot impatiently. It was _his_ birthday, and _his _future girlfriend!

Lily rolled her eyes. "I promise."

"Okay," Remus dropped his voice down to a whisper. "James has something very important he wanted to tell you."

Lily looked to be on the verge of a Lily Panic Attack, in James' point of view. He shot a desperate glance towards Remus, who rushed to try and resolve the matter at hand.

"Stop, Lily!" Remus said, grabbing her arms and forcing them back down, holding them tight enough to stop them from trembling. "James, er, wouldn't tell any of us. It must be important. He looked really devastated."

James glared at Remus before crouching into a devastated posture. Oh, he would get Remus back for this for sure! It was _his_ birthday!

Lily exhaled noisily. "Fine."

"He's right there," Remus said, pointing to James as if he had just caught sight of him.

"Oh..."

Remus bolted off before he could get in the way of his two classmates.

"Hey Evans," James said, running a hand through his hair. James then promptly awarded himself the award for the Worst Asker Outer Ever To Exist In The History Of The World. On March 27th. His _birthday_.

"Hey...Potter," Lily said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. She looked so attractive, her bright, green eyes were sparkling...

"Potter!" Lily snapped a finger in front of James' face.

"Oh, huh?" James blinked a few times and then blushed. "Oops, sorry." It wasn't his fault Lily's eyes were so easy to get lost into...

"Potter! What did you want to tell me?"

James blinked a few more times.

"Er, there's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend and, er..." He could practically hear Sirius snickering in the background.

"I am well aware of the trip, Potter," Lily said coldly.

Half hoping her face was soften, he continued. "And, I, er, want you to come with me."

Lily took a deep breath and started counting to ten out loud. James presumed that she was not aware of this fact, but after a warning glare from Remus, he didn't comment.

"I don't want to go with you, Potter! I'll go with you when hell freezes over! I told you so last time!"

"Heh. Heh," James attempted to chuckle to lighten his nervousness. "So, I guess hell hasn't frozen over yet?"

"NO! What makes this day different than the last time you asked?"

James hesitated for a couple of seconds. This was going to take a great deal of guts.

"It's my birthday, and this would be the perfect present."

Lily blinked, looking dubiously at the messy haired boy in front of her.

"You hesitate and then expect me to believe that?"

"But it's true," James protested.

"Hah!" Lily gave a mock laugh. "We all know how arrogant you are, Potter. On your birthday, you'd have Hogwarts lined with March 27th since a week ago to make sure we don't forget about your birthday and all give you presents. You'd even have the whole bloody choir come in to sing for you! I hate to break it to you, but none of this havoc has occurred, thus this isn't your birthday. I wouldn't go out with an arrogant pig such as yourself."

"Please, Evans, I'm telling the truth!" James said, looking desperate. "It's my birthday, and I'm not that arrogant. I just want _one_ gift, that will leave me in eternal happiness. A date with you."

"Eternal happiness? Yeah, right," Lily dismissed the fact with the wave of her hand. "You have enough, Potter. I can't give you this gift on a regular day."

"It's my birthday!" James exclaimed, starting to look stupid. Little would he know that Sirius had snapped a photo of this moment to show him later, but that's a story for another time.

"This isn't normal James Potter behaviour!" Lily retorted. "This couldn't be your real birthday!"

"This is the real me!"

"I know the real you!"

"I don't tell just anyone about my birthday," James said, his eyes looking downcast, although his casual posture had not been adjusted. "You have to be special. It's an honour." James could hear the face palms coming from the other end of the hall. It did not help his confidence.

"The honour of knowing your fake birthday. You're back to the real you, Potter. Congratulations," Lily said monotonously.

"You don't know the real me," James whispered, making this moment a whole lot more dramatic. Had it been any other girl, this would have been the perfect opportunity for a kiss, but alas, this was not another girl, but Lily, and it didn't seem like he was getting a kiss any time soon.

"Goodbye, Potter," Lily said, her eyes looking rather annoyed.

"One day you'll meet the real me," James said into her ear.

Lily pushed James away from her.

"Bye!" she hissed as she stomped off.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter ran to go check on the lovesick birthday boy as soon as Lily had left the crime scene. James had a dreamy look on his face.

Peter looked confused. "Mate, she just rejected you." Sirius and Remus exchanged looks.

James continued to stare on wistfully. "She touched me..."

THE END.

**A/N: To James Potter. A man full of determination and loyalty, who taught us it was possible to have a life, get good grades, and still get the job and girl of his dreams. He was a winner in every way, and that is why we continue to celebrate his birthday years after his death. I think he would be very happy if he saw the peaceful world he left behind, what he had started. If you can hear, James, happy birthday!**

**Please review! **


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